204. Force Of Evil (1948)

Directed By Abraham Polonsky


Synopsis

A lawyer for what are basically gambling gangsters tries to protect his brother who is in the numbers business, when he ultimately fails he takes revenge.

Review

The synopsis makes what is a very complex film seem quite simple. This is another of those cases of a noir which is quite complex and not really tied down by convention. Not even the film's structure is conventional, and that is the one major problem with the film.

The film spends about two thirds establishing and explaining the intricacies of the gambling business and doing a pretty good job of what is a pretty boring subject by keeping you interested in where it is all going. The last third really has all the action here, and therefore the film is too short for its own good, you need the lengthy explanation to understand what goes on in the film, but 10 more minutes would have been enough not to make the ending seem rushed.

Other than that it is a film which is pretty much ahead of its time. It reminds me more of modern Gangster films, like those of Scorsese who is a big fan of this film, and the last scenes in particular remind me of some nouvelle vague films. And this, together with some amazingly realistic dialogue is what makes the film so surprising. The acting is very competent, particularly by Thomas Gomez who plays the lawyer's poor brother.

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Polonsky's career as a director and credited writer came to an abrupt halt after he refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1951. Illinois congressman Harold Velde called the director a "very dangerous citizen" at the hearings. While blacklisted, Polonsky continued to write film scripts under various pseudonyms that have never been revealed. It is known that Polonsky, along with Harry Belafonte and Robert Wise co-wrote Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), in which Polonsky's name was initially dropped from the film credits. Polonsky was not given public credit for the screenplay until 1997, when the Writers Guild of America, west officially restored his name to the film under the WGA screenwriting credit system.

No youtube today... completely absent from youtube. If anyone wants to put a clip up let me know and I'll post here.